Bruins' MVC Tournament Run Comes to an End in Championship Game

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Playing for its seventh conference tournament championship in 10 seasons, the Belmont University women's basketball team was unable to get past a hot-shooting Murray State squad Sunday afternoon in the 2025 Credit Union 1 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title game. The Bruins (22-12, 15-5 MVC) endured uncharacteristic cold shooting from beyond the arc inside the Ford Center in downtown Evansville, Indiana, as the top-seeded Racers (25-7, 16-4 MVC) defeated Belmont 83-62.
 
Regular season co-champion Murray State shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) from the field and went 14-for-28 from outside en route to its first MVC Tournament title.
 
Going 2-for-21 from distance, the Bruins never led and trailed for 32:53 of the game.
 
Belmont outscored the Racers 34-18 in the paint but was outworked 38-34 on the glass. Despite committing a season-low seven turnovers, the Bruins shot 35.3 percent (24-of-68).
 
After facing an 18-point deficit late in the second quarter, Belmont relied on its defense to climb back within a possession in the third quarter. However, Murray State outpaced the Bruins 32-14 over the last 11:42 of play. The Racers scored 26 points in the final quarter on 6-for-10 shooting, including going 5-for-7 from deep.
 
Following a scoreless opening three-and-a-half minutes, Murray State took an early 15-9 lead on consecutive three-pointers from Halli Poock. Holding the Racers without a basket for the last 3:16 of the first quarter, Belmont evened the score at 15 on a deep jumper from graduate guard Tuti Jones.
 
Taking a double-digit lead at 30-19 a little past the midway point of the second frame, Murray State pushed its advantage out to 18 at 45-27 on another Poock three. The Racers led 45-29 at the half after a 30-14 second quarter. Murray State shot 78.6 percent (11-of-14) in the second stanza and was 6-for-8 from long range.

Scoring the first five points of the second half, the Bruins seemed poised for an extended run in the third quarter. Stringing together multiple stops, Belmont completed an 11-2 run over the first 5:26 of the second half as senior forward Carmyn Harrison made it a seven-point affair at 47-40.
 
Continuing to pressure the Racers, the Bruins clawed their way to get within three late in the third. A layup from graduate guard Kendall Holmes capped an 8-2 Belmont run and made it 51-48 with 1:42 to go in the quarter.

From there, Murray State drew several fouls and took a 6-0 run and 57-48 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Bruins outscored the Racers 19-12 in the third quarter, holding Murray State to 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from the floor and 0-for-5 from behind the arc.

Step-back jumpers from junior guard Emily La Chapell, along with a Jones layup, kept Belmont within single digits early in the fourth but a triple by the Racers' Ava Learn sparked a championship-clinching 18-4 run for Murray State.
 
The Bruins were held to 33.3 percent (11-of-33) shooting in the second half.
 
Senior forward Kendal Cheesman led Belmont with 18 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Jailyn Banks tallied nine points, a team-high eight boards and five assists.
 
The Racers' Katelyn Young led all scorers with 34 points on 13-for-18 shooting and Murray State got 22 points on 6-for-11 three-point shooting from Poock. Learn finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Racers.

All-Tournament Team Honors
Cheesman was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team after averaging 12 points and 13 rebounds across the Bruins' tournament run. She collected 39 total rebounds for the second-most in MVC Tournament history and the most in three tournament games. The Tampa, Florida (H.B. Plant HS), native joins Destinee Wells (2023) as Belmont's MVC All-Tournament Team selections.
 
2025 MVC All-Tournament Team
Katelyn Young, Murray State – Most Outstanding Player (Patty Viverito Award winner)
Halli Poock, Murray State
Haven Ford, Murray State
Kendal Cheesman, Belmont
Katie Dinnebier, Drake
Lacy Stokes, Missouri State
 
Of Note

• The loss is the Bruins' second straight in an MVC Tournament championship game. Belmont also reached the 2023 MVC Tournament championship game in its first season in the league.
• The loss is only the Bruins' 19th in March or February over the last eight seasons.
• Belmont entered Sunday 23-3 in conference tournaments and 6-1 in championship games since 2016.

Up Next
The Bruins are headed back to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) for the second consecutive year and will host Middle Tennessee in the first round Thursday evening at Curb Event Center. More details will follow.

How to Follow
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media - @BelmontWBB on X, formerly Twitter, @belmontwbb on Instagram and Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.